Based on over 60 startups and early stage companies I’ve been involved in or tracked, this is brilliant and totally accurate.
You said:
What are the 10 biggest mistakes founders of startups and early stage companies make?
ChatGPT said:
Here’s a distilled list of the 10 biggest mistakes startup and early-stage founders make — based on patterns seen across hundreds of ventures, investor feedback, and post-mortems from both successes and failures.
1. Falling in Love with the Idea, Not the Problem
Mistake: Building something because you think it’s cool rather than because the market desperately needs it.
Impact: Leads to “solution in search of a problem” — hard to pivot out of.
Better: Start with a painful, validated problem and let the solution evolve.
2. Skipping Market Validation
Mistake: Launching without talking to enough potential customers or getting early feedback.
Impact: Wasted time and money on features nobody cares about.
Better: Run cheap tests (surveys, landing pages, mock-ups) before heavy development.
3. Underestimating Capital Needs
Mistake: Thinking revenue will come faster than it does, or not budgeting for setbacks.
Impact: Running out of runway right before traction takes off.
Better: Assume it will take 2× longer and cost 2× more than you think.
4. Choosing the Wrong Co-Founders or First Hires
Mistake: Partnering with friends or early hires without testing working chemistry.
Impact: Culture clashes, slow decision-making, or founder break-ups.
Better: Treat co-founder selection like a marriage — with shared vision, complementary skills, and a pre-nup (founders’ agreement).
5. Neglecting Go-to-Market Strategy
Mistake: Obsessing over the product but ignoring how it will actually reach customers.
Impact: “Build it and they will come” rarely works — sales cycles are longer and harder than expected.
Better: Develop a clear acquisition, conversion, and retention plan before launch.
6. Chasing Too Many Opportunities at Once
Mistake: Expanding into multiple segments, features, or geographies before winning the first one.
Impact: Diluted focus and resources, weak traction in all markets.
Better: Nail one niche, dominate it, then expand.
7. Poor Understanding of the Numbers
Mistake: Not knowing burn rate, CAC (customer acquisition cost), LTV (lifetime value), or margins.
Impact: Weak investor confidence and bad strategic decisions.
Better: Even if you’re not a finance person, master the few key metrics that determine survival.
8. Overestimating the Competition — or Ignoring It
Mistake: Either dismissing competitors entirely or obsessing over them and copying their playbook.
Impact: Missed opportunities to differentiate.
Better: Study competitors to understand positioning, then deliberately zig where they zag.
9. Building Without Legal and IP Basics
Mistake: No founders’ agreement, unclear equity splits, ignoring IP ownership or trademarks.
Impact: Costly disputes or loss of key assets down the road.
Better: Lock in the basics early with a startup-friendly lawyer.
10. Refusing to Pivot
Mistake: Sticking with a plan long after the market tells you it’s wrong.
